Cinnamon Swirl, Streusel Coffee Cake Using Mexican Crema to Bake With

This, to describe it in a highly technical sense, is “nummy.” Years ago, my wife did not realize that I did not always have other copies of recipes. So she would throw them out when she found them in the kitchen, as she figured I could just print them out again. Then I would say, “Where am I supposed to print out out from if I don’t remember where I got it?” So we have worked on this over the years, and she recently threw out another important recipe. Arg.

Anyhow, the first recipe thrown out was a cinnamon swirl coffee cake, with a streusel topping. I have tried over the year to recreate it, with no success. I recently found this recipe though, and it is pretty darn good. Of course, it is me, so I had to change the recipe from the original. None of the changes are noteworthy, except that I replaced the sour cream with Mexican Crema. Crema is smoother, creamier, and on average, much less tangy than sour cream. So it really appealed to me to use in baking, because these are textures and tastes in keeping with what I was hoping for in the cake.

Ingredients

Streusel Topping

1¼ cups brown sugar

¼ teaspoon salt (if you use unsalted butter)

1½ cups All-Purpose Flour

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

6 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling

1 cup dark brown sugar

1½ tablespoons ground cinnamon

Cake

¾ cup butter

1 teaspoon salt (1 ¼ teaspoons if you use unsalted butter)

1½ cups granulated sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

2½ teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 large eggs, room temperature

¾ cup Mexican crema

1¼ cups milk

3¾ cups All Purpose Flour

Directions

Preheat oven at 350°F. Lightly grease a 9″ x 13″ baking pan.

Combine all of the streusel ingredients except the butter, until well mixed together. Add butter, and stir once again, and set aside. I sometimes need to add a little more butter, this may be because of measuring flour by volume instead of weight.

Alternately add flour (1 cup at a time) and crema mixture (in approximately four equal portions) , beating to combine after each addition.

Pour half of the batter into the baking pan. Note that it is easy to add too much, which makes the top layer more difficult to add, so be careful. Spread out to the edges.

Sprinkle filling across the top of the base layer.

Add the remaining batter to form the top layer.

Gently swirl, using a butter knife, being careful not to completely combine the filling into the batter.

Sprinkle the streusel topping over the batter.

Bake approximately 75-80 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. I use a really thick baking pan, which may add to the cooking time. You should start checking it at 50 minutes. You can usually wiggle it a little and look to the center to see how close it is. If it is still a ways off, the center will jiggle when you wiggle.

Remove the cake to a cooling rack. Allow to cool for 20 minutes before serving. Best served warm, right from the pan.